ASN Report 2017

442 ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2017 Chapter 16  - Radioactive waste and contaminated sites and soils ASN also ensures through inspections that Andra takes the necessary measures to verify the quality of the packages accepted in its disposal facilities. This is because ASN considers that Andra’s role in the approvals issuing process and in monitoring waste package producers is vital in guaranteeing package quality and compliance with the safety case of the waste repositories. 1.2.3 Developing recommendations for sustainable waste management ASN gives opinions on the studies submitted in application of the Decree setting the requirements of the PNGMDR. ASN also gives the Government its recommendations concerning the disposal projects for long-lived radioactive waste. 1.2.4 Developing the regulatory framework and issuing prescriptions to the licensees ASN can issue ASN regulations. Thus, the provisions of the Order of 7th February 2012 which concern the management of radioactive waste have been set out in ASN resolutions mentioned earlier relative to waste management in BNIs and the packaging of waste. Other ASN resolutions may detail, among other things, the requirements applicable to the storage of radioactive waste and to the facilities intended for its disposal. ASN has also published two guides concerning waste management: Guide No.18 relative to the management of radioactive effluents and waste produced by a nuclear activity licensed under the Public Health Code, and Guide No. 23 relative to the BNI waste zoning plan (see point 1.1.1). Lastly, ASN is consulted for its opinion on draft regulatory texts relative to radioactive waste management. More generally, ASN issues requirements relative to the management of waste from the BNIs. These requirements are set out in ASN resolutions which are subject to public consultation and published on its website. 1.2.5 Evaluation of the nuclear financial costs The regulatory framework designed to ring-fence the financing of nuclear facility decommissioning costs or, for radioactive waste disposal facilities, the final shutdown, maintenance and monitoring costs, in addition to the cost of managing spent fuel and radioactive waste, is described in chapter 15 (see point 1.4). 1.2.6 ASN’s international action in the area of waste ASN participates in the work of WENRA which aims to harmonise nuclear safety practices in Europe by defining “reference safety levels” which must be transposed into the national regulations of its member countries. In this respect, the WGWD (Working Group on Waste and Decommissioning) is tasked with developing reference levels for the management of radioactive waste and spent fuel. In 2017, following the work already carried out on storage, disposal and decommissioning, ASN participated in finalising the development of reference levels for the packaging of radioactive waste in 2017. The ASN resolutions enable, among other things, these reference levels to be transposed into the general regulations applicable to BNIs. ASN also tracks the transposition of the reference levels in the WENRA member countries. ASN participates in the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Waste Safety Standards Committee (WASSC), whose role is to draft the international standards, particularly concerning the management of radioactive waste. It also takes part in the work of ENSREG (European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group) group 2 which is responsible for subjects relative to radioactive waste management. ASN also participates in projects of a technical nature conducted with the European Union and the IAEA, particularly on the deep geological disposal of radioactive waste. In 2017, ASN coordinated the authoring of the French national report on the implementation of the obligations of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management which France approved in 2000. The French report was submitted to the IAEA in October 2017. It will undergo a peer review in May 2018 in Vienna. This report presents the implementation of the obligations of the Joint Convention by all the French actors concerned. It also details the developments in the European and French regulatory frameworks and in the spent fuel and radioactive waste management policies, along with the issues raised by the decommissioning of nuclear facilities. The report also specifies the new steps taken by France to integrate the lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi accident for the fuel cycle and radioactive waste management facilities. ASN’s international actions are presented more generally in chapter 7. 1.3 Long-term management solutions for radioactive waste 1.3.1 Disposal of Very-Low-Level (VLL) waste Cires (Industrial Centre for Nuclear Waste Collection, Storage and Disposal), located in the towns of Morvilliers and La Chaise in the Aube département and operated by Andra, includes a disposal facility for Very-Low-Level (VLL) waste. This facility, which has ICPE status, has been operational since August 2003. At the end of 2017, the volume of waste in the Cires repository was about 352,300 m 3 , or 54.2% of the authorised capacity (650,000 m 3 ). The latest production estimates for VLL waste indicate that the needs will exceed the capacity planned for when the centre was designed. However, the annual VLL waste production streams have been lower than projected in the last few years. ASN considers that Andra and the waste producers must continue their efforts to reduce the quantity of VLL waste, particularly by optimising its production and densification. ASN also considers that consolidation of the VLL waste production projections is a vital step in guiding future choices in the overall optimisation of the management route. As authorised disposal capacities are expected to have been